Eeport of Boaed of Cteneeal Manauees. 85 



The entrance to the American section in the center of the Manu- 

 factures Building was a tribute to the public spirit and enterprise of 

 three New York hruis, Tiffany & Co., Grorham Manufacturing Com- 

 pany and the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company. They assumed 

 the responsibility of erecting a pavilion which would worthily represent 

 the United States when contrasted with those of England, Germany 

 and France, on the other three sections formed by the central aisles ; 

 an undertaking which the United States government would not per- 

 form, and which the Chicago management through lack of funds could 

 not do. The pavilion suggested the colonial style of architecture, and 

 was surmounted by a Corinthian column supporting a globe upon 

 which rested the national eagle. It was designed by Architect John 

 Du Fais, of New York ; the structure was by far the most extensive 

 in the United States section. 



The exhibit made by Messrs. Tiffany & Co., gold and silversmiths 

 of New York city, although a corporation of this State, was essen- 

 tially a national exhibit, as it was the skill of their artists and artisans 

 that brought to this country, for successive periods, the highest awards 

 for art metal work from the art center of the world, the Grand Prix 

 having been awarded to their products at the Paris expositions of 1878 

 and 1889. 



At the "World's Columbian Exposition their display consisted of five 

 distinct exhibits. The main one in the Tiffany pavilion, in the center 

 of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, represented an invest- 

 ment of about $1,000,000, and was one of the notable features of the 

 fair. The famous central case of diamonds, with the $100,000 revolv- 

 ing Tiffany gem, the Canary diamond girdle, and hundreds of smaller 

 pieces brilliant with gems, the silver magnolia vase with its marvelous 

 enamelling, the several astronomical clocks, the display of gems in the 

 rough, the fine stationery and illuminated work, the electro silver-plated 

 ware, and the extraordinary display of sterling silver services and indi- 

 vidual pieces, have all become fixtures associated with the World's Fair 

 in the minds of its millions of visitors. 



In the Mines and Mining Building the firm had a very costly and 

 complete plant in connection with the De Beers diamond mining 

 exhibit, showing the diamond-cutting arts, and illustrating every stage 

 in the evolution of the diamond from the pebble as found in the rough 

 to the polished gem in the showcase. This proved an extraordinary 

 attraction. In the galleries of the Mines Building the house had two 



